Disclaimer: No characters that are familiar are mine.

8. One City, One Library, One Secret

The next morning, Hermione awoke, the midmorning sun shining through the curtains. She rolled over in her voluminous sheets to stare at the clock. 10:52. She slept forever. She slipped out of bed standing to stretch. She quickly got dressed and figured she could get some brunch before she had to be at the Natural History Museum. She found a letter slipped underneath the door. She tore it open.

Ms. Granger,

I understand your request and yes I have arranged for someone to allow you access to the originally inaccessible documents. Just tell them who you are and the service should let you in. If you experience any problems contact me and I will see what I can do.

Sincerely,

Fredrick Whitetail

Hermione picked out her best casual attire. She was going to the Library of Congress after all. A little voice in the back of her head questioned of her real intent on dressing so nicely. She knocked that voice back and continued to go about her routine. On her walk in Hiawatha Square she found a nice authentic Chinese restaurant. She had a quick meal and paid before heading out to the Muggle area, hoping to find the museum in time. Street maps showed her where to go, although she still managed to get lost. After going in circles she found a large stone and marble building with a giant dome atop the roof. The steps and entrance were crowded nonetheless and she knew to keep her eyes peeled. She didn't know if Snape would be wearing his blindfold or not, and if he was he probably have a hard time finding her in the crowd. She sat on the steps gazing at the large expanse of grass across the busy street. She glanced at her watch, 12:59. Hermione suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, and looked behind to find Snape standing behind her, blindfold and all. He had dressed in moderate casual attire. A black coat and dark blue jeans made him look like the modern vampires from Muggle TV shows and movies, yet he looked, well, nice.

"How did you manage find me without sight?"

Snape smirked. "I could smell you."

"Do I need to take another shower?"

"No, I know your scent from yesterday."

"Well, Professor Snape, where do we go from here?" Hermione noticed Snape wrinkling his nose in slight disgust. "What's the matter?"

"I'd hate to point out the obvious Mrs. Weasley, but I am no longer a professor."

"I know but what else should I call you. Sir? Severus?"

Snape shook his head; "I don't know that well for you to call me by my given name. Nor do you know me enough for me to refer to you by 'Hermione'."

"So, leave it just as it is. Mr. Snape."

"Fine for now. Follow me and try not to drift."

Do I feel stupid, a blind man is leading me. Hermione stood by his side taking few glances at his stoic face as they turned a few corners and crossed a street. Before long Snape stopped before a large limestone building, statues and Roman embroidery chipped along the walls. Quite a few people, and what looked like a school group were standing outside shifting through security. They didn't wait long, and they both passed through the metal detector. A few of the visitors staring at Snape's blindfold, and Hermione wandered through with him close at hand she searched for someone that looked respectable enough. Hermione's eye caught a small, dark, elderly man with glasses that could quite possibly best Trelawney's.

"Sir, I'm here took look at some restricted documents-"

"Ahh," came the man's small squeaky voice, "You must be Ms. Weasley. Yes, follow me."

He led them to a large metal door and he inserted his I.D. badge in the slot next to it. The locks inside could be heard shifting and unbolting. Hermione had to suppress a gasp from escaping as the small man pushed the door open. It was like a warehouse of books and old documents. Shelves and cases filled to capacity of books and only a few desks and tables could be seen between shelves.

"Is there anything you are looking for?"

Snape spoke, "I think we could find it ourselves thank you."

The man just nodded and sat in a nearby chair. Hermione turned to Snape, "Well?"

"Well what?"

She rolled her eyes, "Where do we start?"

"I have no idea."

"What!?"

Snape didn't answer and simply moved along the shelves while Hermione continued to rant at him. "What do you mean you have no idea!?" Still no answer, instead he ran his hands along the spines. She followed him silently but quickly losing patience. Snape stopped with his hands on the thick spine of a large tome, his fingers running along a golden design etched into the leather.

"Excuse me?" Snape called over to the man. The man peered at both of them through those huge glasses. "Sir?"

"Are there any documents about the Knight's Templars in here? Like a journal, or something?" Snape asked taping the spine of the book. The golden design was a mapping compass with a right angle ruler and a G in the center.

"I think we do. The French government gave us some valuable documents for safe keeping…"

He scanned along the glass cases full of ancient deteriorated books, "This one may help. I think a Templar scholar wrote it while on an expedition in Egypt."

He pulled out some latex gloves from a dispenser on a far wall and unlocked the case, carefully lifting the ancient journal and placing it into another glass case specially utilized to turn the pages or fix them without even touching them. That posed problems.

"Er, we have a problem.." Hermione said.

"What, Mrs. Weasley? Can't you read?" Snape sneered.

"You know, if you didn't have that blindfold on, would probably see the exact finger I am holding up," Hermione was bluffing.

"Well, be glad I know French," Hermione continued glancing at the worn pages. "Do you want me to read the whole thing?"

Hermione didn't give him a chance to answer, "Stupid question, of course you want me to read the whole thing to you…"

"No, skim it. Read me anything that seems…intriguing."

"My version of intriguing and your version are probably totally different."

Snape's face didn't falter, "Actually, given your intelligence I don't think they should be too far off. Now, please, let's get reading."

Hermione, Snape, and the dark skinned old-man all sat in front of the casing, Hermione inserting her hands in some latex gloves and grasping clippers used to turn the pages. Carefully turning page after page, scanning the scripture for anything that seemed odd. She did stop a couple of times to read a passage or two, but Snape just shook his head and told to skip ahead.

"Oh, here's one," Hermione said squinting at the passage, the writing was faded just as the others and the French was ancient making it hard to decipher. "From what I can make out the writer, De Lasuex, was traveling in Egypt with another small Templar force. They found some ruins and a cave; the leader went inside with a few other soldiers and the others waited. Apparently only the leader made it out and he…changed."

"Changed? In what way?"

"De Lasuex mentions that Adrien Monstre de la Noire, the leader, came back with a cold disposition. He mentions something about a curse of some sort. Anyway, Monstre de la Noire came back with blood on his hands and lips. His eyes had turned red and developed some sort of dark markings on his face."

Hermione flipped through the pages, "Well here explains something. It says that Monstre de la Noire massacred an entire Muslim scouting force by himself with the use of, and I quote 'demon arms and wings formed from darkness'. Monstrenoir was pretty bloodthirsty."

Snape made a small humming sound, calculating what Hermione just read to him. Monstre de la Noire seemed to be infected with something when he went into the cave. Obviously. The question was: With what? "I'm guessing that Monstre de la Noire was not the Templar's real name."

Hermione shrugged and flipped back through the pages, "Monstre de la Noire does mean 'monster of the dark'. Well in this entry he refers to when the expedition started off. Then apparently he was named Adrien D'Montegue---what are you doing?"

Snape sat down near a desk holding a computer turning it on and typing something in the database. A list that Hermione could not read from her vantage point popped up. He motioned for her to see what was on the screen. "Read."

Hermione glanced at the screen hovering over Snape's shoulder. "D'Montague, Adrien Renard. Section Fre. 44436009-7722. FTemp."

Silently he rose making his way down to the "Fre" section. Just as he did before, he ran his fingers along the spines of the books, feeling the raised texture of the words. He slipped a small yellowing book from the shelf.

"Most of these books were donated to the Library by French diplomats or historians. These documents are ancient but cataloguing them doesn't involve reading or deciphering them. I wouldn't be surprised if no one has ever looked into that book. I know I've never seen it," the old man said examining the book.

"What is it?"

"It looks like a history about the Templar leaders written by a German historian about a hundred years ago," he answered.

Snape put on some gloves of his own and flipped through the pages running his fingers through the text carefully feeling through each word. He stopped at one point and "reread" the text again. "He never died," he whispered.

"So..he's still alive?" Hermione responded dubiously.

"Foolish girl," he muttered. "He wasn't killed like the other Templars. Of course, it is no secret that some Templars escaped the King of France's Templar purging. There was no report of him being burned, but at the same time Monstre de la Noire somehow disappeared. Apparently he re-changed his name back to D'Montegue only this time shortening it to Montegue."

"I can understand that but what does this have to do with our investigation?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I would have to find out more about this curse."

"Somehow I doubt this would be in readily available texts," Hermione frowned. She was somehow relieved that her wording dowsed any suspicion that the old man may have. Snape shook his head, "Some Ministry officials may know. They have contacts with the French Division and the Egyptian Ministry scholars."

"And how would we go about gaining that? We can't just barge into the Ministry demanding ancient curses."

"Don't worry about that, I'll make arrangements. I don't know how long it would take but you could just take a day or two off. You know, get a chance to see the sights."

Hermione snorted, "Yeah, and get lost again."

"I think we are done here for now sir," Snape addressed the old man who nodded and lead them both out. They both reached the outside of the Library turning to face each other. "I shall call upon you once I get anything. You know where to find me should you find something."

Hermione couldn't help but smile and felt a tug in her heart as she realized he couldn't see it. "Are you going to contact them today?" Snape nodded stiffly, "I have the day off today. This the only time I can. I will have to resume my duties tomorrow. What about you?"

"As you said, I could take a day off. Although to the British Ministry I'm on vacation." Hermione answered.

"I see," he grumbled, "I shall see you soon if not later." He turned and stalked off into the crowd. Hermione blinked and he disappeared.

-------------------------

She collapsed on her bed breathing in deeply. Hermione didn't feel like doing anything after she left the Library of Congress. Either way, she did feel restless. She needed something academic to do and she thought of the box Malfoy sent her. Pouncing off her bed she grabbed a handful of Floo powder and threw into the fireplace. After the green flames licked hearth, Karen Walker's face appeared as cheerful as her botoxed face made it to be.

"Hi, honey, what can I do for you?"

"Karen could you send over that large cardboard sitting next to my filing cabinet. With the old books in it."

Her face disappeared and she came out full form from the flames carrying the box, looking uncomfortable at doing actual labor. She set it down with a grunt. She straightened, composing herself, "You know what that needs? A little scotch."

"Thank you," Hermione called as Karen disappeared through the green flames.

Staring at the box, she was hesitant. Hermione felt that there was something eerie about it, but interesting to say the least. Crookshanks carefully padded over to the box investigating its scent. Hermione bent down and sorted though the contents. Ancient tomes and volumes that looked rarely used made up most of the contents but a small mahogany box rested in the middle. Deciding with the books first she took two larger volumes and set them on the desk.

Hermione flipped somewhere near the middle of the text and the pages were marked.

Vita Secundum Excessum

Next to it was a full-page sketch of a figure with what looked like an inky blackness that spread throughout its body tracing the veins. The figure looked uncomfortable, as if the black ink was devouring him.

The early ages of magic and civilization brought on unknowns, many of which bring about living curses, similar to selling the soul to the devil. One afflicted with one of these curses loses what they have of their soul. The soul belongs to the assaulting curse. Ancient curses such as these were primarily used to strengthen the wizard or witch in power and weren't cast upon others. The curse affects willing souls taking control of the body, mind, and soul.

The date of the tome was before the Middle Ages so it didn't provide much insight on what the curse was. It was a vague text but the illustrations told wonders. Illustrations of the figures were similar to the first, writhing in torment as black ink and vines wound themselves around the bodies, filled the next eleven pages.

She closed the tome and took out the next book. The engraving on it read Origins of the Dark Arts. Hermione visibly reeled in shock. This book was supposed to be destroyed during the Spanish Inquisition. There were only a few copies but all of them were reported to be seized and destroyed.

She carefully opened the book, skimming through the pages. It wasn't a very large book, mostly because the origins of the Dark Arts weren't widely known let alone recorded. Yet she found a marked passage with a full color painting of a figure with shadowed features, red eyes and black vine-like wings. Turning her attention to the passage she read the print closely.

In the Early Years of Egypt many Arts couldn't be compared to a symbiotic curse that consumes darkness and the lives of its host. This curse has no name to this day but Greek travelers refer to these tales of this curse as Skotinotes, primarily because the creature-curse feeds on the dark supposedly. In my travels to Egypt, very few would be willing to talk to me about this curse. A few priests of this ancient religion mentioned that this curse was sealed from the time of its first defeat. A dervish priest in the region of Bubastis told me that a dark mage from a far ancient civilization created the curse for his own self-gain and to control the civilization. The mage was defeated and the curse was sealed in Egypt.

Priests from Rome had been in contact with traveling scholars that had been studying Greece for quite sometime, monitoring their findings. At the notion that lesser mortals of a lesser civilization whose beliefs do not interpret the Savior or God to be the ruler, found it appalling that they had the ability to create such power. A dervish warrior that kept watch over the now destroyed Necropolis of Bubastis had told me that in many scriptures found by the first tracings of Egyptian civilization a prophesy that Skotinotes would rise with the next power-hungry zealot force to enter the land. But only if darkness lay within their hearts.

Hermione rubbed her eyes and shook her head but instead wrote a note, underlining "Skotinotes" twice adding a question mark. These books were nothing very transfixing but she stared back at the painting on the beginning of the chapter. The phrase popped in her head. Wings formed from darkness. She shook her head again. That couldn't be the same curse could it? It would be too much of a coincidence if it were. She closed the book with a snap setting it aside and deciding to hold off the examination of the contents until later.

Shrugging inwardly, she pulled out of her chair and made her way out of her room for a drink.

A/N: Skotinotes (sko-tea-no-tez): is a rough spelling and translation of the Greek word for darkness. Vita Secundum Excessum- roughly translates to Life After Death

Extra credit to who ever finds out what Bubastis is.